We are excited to announce this year’s Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Brown. Not only did she win the Emerson Award, but she also won the prestigious Teacher of the Year voted on by our staff.

Mrs. Brown has always had a passion for teaching,

“I always wanted to be a teacher, even from when I was a young age,” Brown said. “But when I saw how much teachers made, I shied away from becoming a teacher. I actually went to school to become an engineer, and then did an internship and decided that that was not for me. I ended up working at a summer camp with kids and went back to my first love and got back into teaching.”

Mrs. Brown has evolved her teaching by trying different things and building relationships with her students, 

“My role as a teacher has evolved a lot since my first year of teaching,” Brown said. “First year of teaching is taking your education and trying to figure out how to apply it yourself in the classroom, which the real classroom is not like learning it out of a textbook. So I think over the years I’ve just gotten a lot better at knowing my students individually and then trying to find activities that they would find helpful but also somewhat enjoyable even if they hate math in the classroom.”

Mrs. Brown could have chosen to work in another field but decided teaching makes her happiest,

“I really like working with students,” Brown said. “I just love to do it. It’s definitely my passion, I feel like I wouldn’t be fulfilled in another career. I definitely need to interact with students.”

Mrs. Brown finds ways to expand her teaching skills, like attending in-services and learning from her co-workers.

“I try to be dynamic in the way I present, so that it’s not dry,” Brown said. “And I try to find activities that are helpful with the content but that you’re going to enjoy doing.” 

This isn’t the first award Mrs. Brown has received and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Mrs. Brown puts a lot of effort into what she loves and we’re thankful to have her.